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Goldfinger is the third EON productions James Bond
movie. Sean Connery stars as James Bond, and the supporting
cast includes Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn,
Gert Frobe, Harold Sakata, and Honor Blackman. The title
song is sung by Shirley Bassey, and the musical score composed
by John Barry. ***
After breaking up a drug operation in Mexico, James
Bond is assigned to find out what he can about Auric Goldfinger
– a rich man with ulterior motives. Bond does what he can
to find out about Goldfinger’s diabolical scheme, and it
isn’t long before he discovers that Goldfinger has plans
for Fort Knox – the largest gold depository in the world.
It’s up to Bond to use his skill as a spy and his Q-branch
technology, including a new armed car and tracking device,
to put a stop to the madman’s plot. ***
No matter how many people you ask, no matter how many
surveys you do, one thing is certain – Goldfinger is the
most popular and most beloved James Bond film of all. ***
Directed by Guy Hamilton (he’d also direct a trio of
Bonds in the 70s, none of which were in the upper tier of
the series), Goldfinger starts exciting and stays suspenseful
throughout. Series regulars Maxwell, Llewelyn, and Lee are
in fine form, and Gert Frobe is in fine form as the bad
guy. Harold Sakata is great as Oddjob, Goldfinger’s bodyguard/caddy,
and Honor Blackman steals the show as Pussy Galore, a woman
in Goldfinger’s employment that Bond attempts to woo over
(but I suppose anyone who has seen a Bond film isn’t too
surprised there.) ***
The writing, filming, editing, and direction are all
top-notch on Goldfinger, and it isn’t hard to see why this
movie is so widely loved by fans of the series. There are
plenty of memorable scenes, suspenseful situations, and
iconic images – who could forget the dead girl covered in
gold? As with nearly every James Bond film until his death
in the early 90s, Richard Maibaum worked on the script –
and his brilliant writing shows in every scene of the film
in which dialogue is used. Goldfinger is the film that nearly
every James Bond film since has tried to be. None have succeeded,
though some efforts have come close. ***
John Barry is, by far, the most popular music composer
the Bond series used, and he created some timeless scores
for the franchise. The Goldfinger score is one of his finest,
suiting every scene perfectly. Shirley Bassey’s title song
(she’d do two more in the future, making her the only person
to do more than one) is probably the most iconic piece of
James Bond music ever made apart from Monty Norman’s theme
music. ***
Goldfinger is James Bond at his finest. Everything
you could want in a Bond film, Goldfinger has it – girls,
guns, gadgets, globetrotting, the list goes on. This is
one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, of all the Bond
films. It deserves its reputation. 5 out of 5 stars. ---
Image and Sound:
Several years ago, the James Bond movies (which had
seen a ton of home video releases already) underwent an
extensive, frame-by-frame restoration. A good deal of print
damage and dirt were removed in an effort that took several
years to complete. ***
The end result is, to put it simply, well worth it.
***
Lowry Digital Images knows how to restore movies. Their
restoration of the James Bond back catalogue is, hands down,
the greatest restoration job this reviewer has EVER seen.
This film is no exception. They have taken movies, that
are in some cases, nearly half a century old, and made them
look as good as they day when they premiered in theatres,
if not better. The image is clear throughout, without any
sort of issue. From what20I can tell, no DNR was used in
these transfers, and there is a staggering amount of detain
not noticeable in any standard-def release of the movie.
Lowry did one hell of a job restoring this franchise. ***
As if the image restoration wasn’t enough, the films
now have lossless audio tracks. If you’ve got a speaker
set, you’ll be able to experience these films (both audio
and visual-wise) like you never have before.
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